Oxford Casino sale waiting on gambling board license

AUGUSTA, Maine — The Oxford Casino won’t be asked to apply for a new casino operator’s license if the Gambling Control Board approves the casino’s pending sale to Churchill Downs Incorporated Properties.

The Gambling Control Board is running a background investigation on Churchill Downs, Director Patrick Fleming said at Tuesday’s meeting of the board.

In March, Oxford Casino owners announced the sale to the parent company of Churchill Downs Racetrack, home of the Kentucky Derby, for $160 million cash. The sale process is still under way, Oxford Casino vice president and general manager Jack Sours said after the meeting.

Churchill Downs is expected to present its plans to the Gambling Control Board in July if the board’s background investigation goes well. Sours said the sale’s closing is waiting on the Maine Gambling Control Board to license Churchill Downs to operate a casino in Maine.

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“Once the entity is licensed, they can proceed with closing the sale,” Sours said.

The board decided Tuesday to allow a transfer of ownership of the casino’s operating license to Churchill Downs if they approve the sale. Black Bear Development will still be licensed but the parent company will be different. “The next level up is where the change is going to be,” Fleming said.

“They don’t have to fill out a whole new application,” he said. “We’re just going to be doing a refresh of some of the information we already have.”

CDI Properties operates casinos in Florida, Mississippi and Louisiana as well as several racetracks. The Oxford Casino, which opened in June of 2012, has 814 slot machines and 22 table games and employs 420 people.